TEHRAN - Iranian economy is projected to grow by 2.1 percent in 2021 as booming domestic production outweighs the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report released on June 8.

“In the Islamic Republic of Iran, growth is forecast to recover by 2.1 percent in 2021 and 2.2 percent in 2022 with a rebound in industrial production outweighing continued suppressed demand for services due to a high number of COVID-19 cases,” the report stated.

According to the World Bank, the Iranian economy also exceeded expectations in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20) as the country’s industrial and productive sectors grew significantly against all the odds.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran avoided an expected contraction in the fiscal year 2020/21, which ended in March, with both the oil and non-oil sectors rebounding in the second half of the year, benefiting from higher oil prices and currency depreciation, respectively,” the institute said in its report.

According to the mentioned report, Iran’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is going to continue its positive growth in 2023, expanding by 2.3 percent.

In January, the bank had predicted a 1.5 percent GDP growth for Iran in the current year and a 1.7 percent growth for 2022; the current estimation of Iranian economic growth is 0.7 percent better than the entity’s previous estimations.

World Bank also sees the global economy rebounding in the current year, although most developing economies are expected to lag behind due to the negative impacts of the pandemic.

“The global economy is expected to expand 5.6 percent in 2021, the fastest post-recession pace in 80 years, largely on strong rebounds from a few major economies,” the report said.

Based on the report, many emerging markets and developing economies will continue to struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath.

Despite the recovery, global output will be about two percent below pre-pandemic projections by the end of this year. Per capita income losses will not be unwound by 2022 for about two-thirds of emerging market and developing economies.

Among low-income economies, where vaccination has lagged, the effects of the pandemic have reversed poverty reduction gains and aggravated insecurity and other long-standing challenges, the report stated.

EF/MA